At this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the spotlight was firmly on how brands are navigating an ever-changing media landscape increasingly shaped by AI, internet culture, and moments that can go viral overnight for entirely unexpected reasons.
Among the executives in attendance was Dorothée Gardon, the Global Marketing Strategy & Integrated Media Director at IKEA, who spoke to Euronews Culture about how the company is navigating innovation, affordability, and viral culture in an increasingly fast-moving media landscape.
One of the most unexpected examples of that intersection came earlier this year, when a tiny baby Japanese macaque named Punch went viral online after being filmed carrying an IKEA Djungelskog orangutan plush toy.
Clips of Punch spread across the internet, racking up millions of views and triggering a spike in sales of the toy across multiple markets. IKEA then ceased the moment with its own viral social content.
In this interview with Euronews Culture, Gardon reflects on how the Swedish company is balancing innovation, affordability, and brand identity in a fast-moving media landscape - and how Punch the monkey unexpectedly helped drive global attention for the brand.
